Take Monster, Beast Mode, 56 Nights, and wring out the best moments from Honest and you have Dirty Sprite 2, the sequel to one of Future‘s early mixtapes, and his most important album to date. After a mixtape run that resulted in a collection of memes now known as #FutureHive – and a tightgrip on the streets that helped him reach a slew of new ears while keeping his core fanbase, Future did the unthinkable and survived the sophomore slump. Going back to the basics proved to be the answer to an aching career, but none of it would have mattered if he didn’t deliver when it mattered most.

“I just fucked your bitch in some Gucci flip flops.” Just like that the image of the high end sandal will never be the same. Over Metro Boomin and Allan Ritter‘s soundscape, that reminds you of a Monster rising from the dead, Future amuses us, yet at the same time pours his soul out in an ode to eponymous drink. He tells his stories matter of factly. The tone is as if the pure pleasure of hedonism sort of hurts him. Where some artists simply brag about having “Groupies,” Future talks about them as if a certain ex-girlfriend is the only reason he’s engaging in these relations with these women.

Gone are the shameless reaches for commercial play Future spread himself thin with on Honest. Everything is scaled down to what got him here in the first place – which is Metro Boomin’, Southside, Sonny Digital, and Zaytoven – whose soul contribution to the album, “Collosal” conjures the spirit of Beast Mode and brings out the best in Future from a pure rap perspective as he creates his own subset of the Migos flow. Even when he lets new faces in, such as Elijah Sacii on “I Serve The Base,” he keeps Metro close by. The production provides a consistency lacked on previous projects.

Future appears to have found himself in an amazing position. When he reached too hard he failed, and when he remained as honest to his roots as possible he saw more success than ever. Any artists can learn from the victory lap that is Dirty Sprite 2,